For the past 2 months I have been in Africa, soaking in the last of my race and loving on the sweet Swazi kids that live in the community of Nsoko, Swaziland. Our squad’s ministry has been working at different care points. Care points are community sanctioned, after school programs for the children. Around 1 o’clock when school ends, kids begin walking to the nearest care point where they receive a meal of rice and sometimes beans and are taught either a Bible or self care lesson. Each care point has a shepherd, a local man or woman, who has been given the opportunity to receive a year of training and then commit to work for/run the care point for 2 years. There are more than 40 care points in Swaziland, each with their own shepherd. Our ministry is to assist the shepherd in leading the care point. Most days look like playing tag or holding the children’s hands as they walk and balance on the tires that act as a gate around the carepoint playground. The preschool kids, who come in the mornings, are harder to interact with because they don’t know how to speak English yet, so we sing lots of songs and dance. In addition to care point ministry, we also do house visits. The woman we met yesterday during house visits ended up giving her life to the Lord!
My time here has been filled with holding dirty faced, bare butt kids and letting sticky fingers “braid” my hair (very painful). It might sound like I’m complaining, but I’m really not. I’m letting you know that ministry doesn’t need to feel good to you. You don’t need to have a feeling of being fulfilled or satisfied by what you do for it to reach and fulfill those you are ministering to. Showing love is enough. And if showing love is accomplished through embracing each dirty child who asks me “untant?” (hold me) then each child I will willingly pick up, snuggle, and sing hope over because my Father embraced me while I was filthy. While there was still food on my face and my soul was content in spiritual poverty, the Lord picked me up and spoke life into me, even before I asked.
